


discover truth x99

by chosuiri



Category: Granblue Fantasy (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Modern AU, e-boy activity, theyre like 21 b/c they're college kids here :pensive:, this is truly such an unfortunate fic, yurius scams the internet fellas. and commits tax evasion. why? in the name of science
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:21:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27267919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chosuiri/pseuds/chosuiri
Summary: Yurius has been awfully distant recently, and only solidified him getting further away from Albert when he quit the fencing club. Albert chalks it up to his recent internship, but it seems like there might be more to it?It's not only until Mina lets him know about how Yurius seems to be doing something strange online.
Relationships: Albert/Yurius (Granblue Fantasy)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 21





	discover truth x99

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kayochii](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kayochii/gifts).



> thanks kyo for making this possible it's really (loud coughing) you know.
> 
> also oops! (goes over word cap) 
> 
> no you don't need to know any alyuri lore for this. just accept this as is but they're childhood friends and now they attend the same university 
> 
> (spamming kenkyuu no seika da) enjoy

“Resigning from the club?” Albert blinks, glancing up from the piece of paper his childhood friend just handed to him. He looks back at it to double-check, and sure enough, it’s Yurius’s name with his signature at the bottom of the page with the date printed. “I suppose the sword did not suit you all too well… I’ve noticed your absence lately, my friend.”

Yurius chuckles, “Fear not, my dear friend, it is no offense against you or your superior leadership. It’s a matter of my concentration getting a little busier… I have a lot of labs and experiments to be running.” He crosses his arms, eyes shifting toward the training room’s exit.

“I see. STEM majors sure have it tough,” Albert agrees with a nod, “you did get that internship at the lab recently, haven’t you?”

Yurius nods slowly, a pleasant smile on his face still, although he notices the vice-captain, Mina, glaring at him from the corner of his eye. He shoots a look of recognition back, perhaps with some ill-intent. 

“Something wrong, Yurius?” Albert blinks, smiling (dumbly) and grasping a little tighter on his helmet. “Oh, am I keeping you?”

“No, not at all. Although, I should be taking my leave now. I won’t be keeping you from practice, dear Captain.” Yurius lays a heavy emphasis on _Captain_ for whatever reason, dips his head, and makes his way out of the room.

Albert frowns slightly as he watches his friend leave, shaking his head as he puts back on his helmet. Finally, he looks over at his vice-captain Mina and gives her a thumbs-up. “Well, then, shall we continue?”

“Captain Albert…” Mina voices quietly, “Um…”

“What is it?” Albert perks up, turning to her.

Mina lets out a sigh out of frustration. “No,” She answers quietly, “It’s nothing.”

Albert shrugs, and soon the fencing club’s practice commences.

* * *

Albert sighs, reclining back in the chair as he sits at the coffee counter. Sandalphon glances over at him with a curious look in his eyes, and he shakes his head. Albert lazily checks his phone again, letting out a long, heavy sigh as he dramatically drops the phone back on the coffee counter next to his almost-empty cup of coffee.

“Did you need a refill?” Sandalphon asks with both the characteristic retail politeness and a sneer, “or leaving soon? I don’t have time to be the shoulder you cry on when you get stood up again.”

“I thought that Yurius would…” Albert mumbles as he lets out another sigh, reluctantly picking up his cup of coffee and finishes it off before sliding it toward Sandalphon. “Another, then.”

Sandalphon rolls his eyes, “What his excuse now? Did he even send you something back?”

“No…”

“Ghosted, huh?” Sandalphon shrugs his shoulders, grabbing the cup and rinsing it off before pouring him another cup. “You could entertain yourself by saying he’s busy with research and so on, but at this rate, you have to wonder…”

“Don’t say it like that,” Albert returns with a sigh. “I am certain that was the case for you back then--”

“Enough of that,” Sandalphon changes the subject, “here’s your refill. If you’re gonna waste your whole day here, then please feel free to order much more from us, dear customer. Maybe get some of that homework done.”

“I’m sick of math,” Albert groans, but accepts the cup. “You have my thanks, friend.”

“Who said that was on the house?” Sandalphon raises an eyebrow.

Albert laughs lightheartedly, returning to focus on his work. “Well, it’s just comforting to have some company.”

Sandalphon rolls his eyes, returning to his work and leaving Albert be. 

Hours later when Albert’s caught up on all of his homework for the weekend, Albert checks his phone again. Still nothing from Yurius. Instead, there’s a phone call it seems like Albert has missed in the middle of his studying. He blinks, seeing that it’s his roommate, and calls him back. “... Lucifer? What’s up?”

Sandalphon’s eyes widen at the mention of the name, but he huffs and turns away.

“Albert,” Lucifer says on the phone slowly and sounds more desperate than Albert has anticipated, “the toaster isn’t working. Could you come to look at it?”

Albert pauses, glancing over at the empty seat he saved for Yurius. “Do you need the toaster right now?”

“I would like to toast some bread right now to go with my coffee, yes.”

Lucifer sounds like such a lost puppy that Albert has no choice. He sighs and starts packing up his stuff. “Fine, I’ll be there soon.” Lucifer sounds pleased from the other side, and Albert deemed it okay to hang up. He quickly sends an apologetic text to Yurius, offering to treat him to dinner later for his trouble. Before he leaves, he asks Sandalphon for a toasted croissant to go, in case there’s no solution to their toaster problem.

On his way back, Yurius finally sends him a text back.

It only says “ _oh_ ”. 

* * *

An hour or so after Albert left to deal with his roommate, another familiar-looking customer enters the cafe. He’s got long, pink wavy hair tied back in a ponytail and a regal figure, especially with that long luxurious coat of his. He glances around the cafe. “Hm… How interesting.” He recognizes Sandalphon, for some bizarre reason, and walks over and smiles. “You’re Sandalphon, right?”

“Uh…” Sandalphon glances down at his name tag, which indeed does say ‘Sandalphon’ on it in legible print. “Yes. Do I know you?”

“I heard about you from Albert,” The pink-haired man says with a shrug, somehow pinpointing the same spot Albert occupied just an hour ago. “Albert sat here, right?”

“Uh… yeah. How did you know?” This dude is weird.

The man chuckles, taking off his backpack and hanging it on the hooks under the bar counter. He slides onto the seat, and he rests his elbows on the table. “I’m his friend Yurius. May I see the menu please?”

“The men I please are none of your business,” Sandalphon says without any second thought, almost as a knee jerk reaction. Wait. 

Yurius laughs again, “You must have misheard me. I was referring to the drink menu.”

“Oh.” Gods, strike him down now where he stood. “Sorry. Here’s the menu. Just let me know when you’re ready to order.”

Yurius does that weird and creepy laugh again, and now Sandalphon wonders why Albert is best friends with someone like _that_. “I must be blessed that it’s empty here.” He muses as he takes the menu from Sandalphon, eyes poring over the list of drinks on it.

“Yeah, you missed the afternoon rush.” Sandalphon returns, “Albert struggled with keeping a seat open for you.”

Yurius hums thoughtfully, “I see. It’s a shame I was too late, then. He offered to treat me to dinner, but…”

“Don’t you want to spend time with him?” Sandalphon returns gruffly, cleaning out the portafilter and then setting it on the scale. “Oh, and if you have any questions about the menu…”

“Well, yes… it’s been a while since we truly had time to hang out.” Yurius shrugs, “It’s quite self-explanatory for frequent coffee drinkers, don’t you think? How about a double shot espresso and a pour-over for me?”

Sandalphon blinks but doesn’t say anything, “Right… then, I’ll get that ready for you. Your total will be…”

* * *

“It’d be more accurate as juniors in university if we were drinking beer,” Albert remarks as he swirls the glass of wine in his hand, “again, it looks like we’re at quite a fancy place.” His eyes flit about the scenery, taking it all in. The restaurant isn’t the fanciest one they could’ve come to, but it sure set… some sort of mood. The dimness of the lights and the candles on the table makes this feel like a much more intimate dinner than it is. Not to mention those roses…

Yurius chuckles, like he always does, and sets down his glass of wine. “You think so? We’re adults now, so this much is appropriate.”

“Yeah, if we were in our 30s,” Albert deadpans, “Yurius, are you calling both of us old men? We’re only 21.”

Yurius smiles, “maybe not myself. You, however… how many times did you complain about your bones?”

“Oi, oi…” Albert grumbles, sighing as he cuts into his steak. “Well… either way, it’s kind of nice. It just feels kind of awkward… like, wouldn’t you take a girl here?”

“Does it look like I’m interested in taking women to dinner?” Yurius asks, “if so, I apologize for coming off that way.”

“You’re not?” Albert scratches his head, but after he thinks about it a bit… Well, Yurius didn’t care about having a girlfriend when they were younger. Neither did Albert, though. Maybe they just are too occupied with their studies or work for romance? “I guess I’m not either.”

Yurius snorts, “is that right? Yet you always had so many girls lining up to confess to you, Captain Albert of the Fencing Club…”

“Enough of that, Yurius,” Albert pouts, continuing eating his steak. While their conversation feels nostalgic in a way, there’s still another strange and oddly unfamiliar feeling to it. Something’s still not quite right… it feels like Yurius is hiding something. Not like his secretive friend would admit to anything so easily.

“Fufu… I’m just speaking the truth, my friend,” His friend hums, tilting around his glass curiously, viewing Albert through it. “Aha. You look positively warped through the glass.”

“That’s a given,” Albert mutters, “that aside, I wanted to ask…”

“Nothing wrong with a mindless observation, is there?” Yurius shrugs, “regardless… ask away, my friend.”

“You’ve been so busy lately,” Albert asks with something of a pout in his voice, “uh, so how’s been that research going? Is it alright for me to ask what it’s about?”

“It seems like I have. We are actively working on some important things, Albert… things I should keep confidential, I would say…” Yurius smiles, “it’s been interesting. Ah, but I’ve been running another experiment of my own on the side, which is why I’ve been having less time to hang out with you.”

“I see.” Albert blinks, “Is it… would it be possible for me to assist you with this research?”

Yurius pauses, frowning as he suddenly looks to inspect his food. He opens his mouth to remark about something, but closes it. “Well… ah, I’m not so certain about that.”

“Why not--” Albert starts, but the ringing of Yurius’s phone cuts him off.

His friend scrambles to check his phone, and quickly starts putting on his jacket, putting away his phone, and taking out his wallet.

“You’re leaving already?”

Yurius only smiles, in that dejected and shitty way he tends to, and stands up from his seat. Albert would be lying if he said it wasn’t frustrating. “My apologies. It’s related to that other research experiment of mine.”

“I get it, but…” Albert sighs, “I’d appreciate it if you…”

“If I..?”

Albert freezes, and then slouches back in his seat, reaching for his glass of wine. “No, nothing. I’ll see you around another time, Yurius.”

“Is that so? Farewell, Albert.” Yurius offers a little wave, blending seamlessly with the restaurant’s crowd of tables as he walks away. Albert sighs, looking over at their table. Yurius left half of the meal untouched. As a reasonably broke college student, Albert considers taking it home for himself, but… oh, the bill!

He waves over a waiter for the check, but the waiter informs him that the other party has already covered the check.

Yurius must be making a lot from that internship!

* * *

“And then he just left like that?” Mina exclaims, sounding extremely offended on Albert’s behalf. “Albert, I’m aware you’ve been friends with Yurius since young, but this doesn’t seem fair to you.”

“Well, he just doesn’t like to--”

“Explain? He’s a researcher. He should learn.” Mina sighs as she crosses her arms, “Do you know _anything_ about Yurius? It’s like he acts like a different person around you.” She glances around the lecture hall to see if anyone is listening in. Thankfully, everyone else seems focused on their phone or preoccupied with their conversations.

Albert blinks, fiddling with his notebook as he answers quietly. “You think so? I guess I’m only with Yurius alone…”

Mina rolls her eyes, “Always alone with him, huh. No wonder you didn’t know… um, Albert. You know he does these live streams, right?”

“What is a Live Stream?” Albert blinks, “Oh, is it like when they broadcast those things on SkyTube?”

“Yep, but Mona could probably explain these things better than I can… either way, I came across one of his streams since it was one of the top trending ones on SkyTube.” Mina frowns, “he plays video games.”

“I never knew…” Albert’s eyes widen, mouth agape as he ponders over the revelation. Yurius never mentioned a peep of it, but it would explain why he always left so abruptly… “Why does he do this?”

“I… well, I never talked to him about it.” Mina shrugs, “well, not like I talk to him at all…”

Albert frowns, but before he could ask more about Yurius’s night occupation as a “streamer”, the professor comes in and starts the lecture.

* * *

“Yurius _does_ do Minecraft streams sometimes,” Lancelot nods, “if you pay 20 bucks he lets you in his Minecraft server.”

“Why?” Albert asks, but his friend does a pretty shoddy job of explaining whatever these technicalities are about the new “e-boy culture” or whatever. It all flies over Albert’s head… almost like a new universe.

“Um… hey, let’s try something else instead. Do you have your laptop with you?” Lancelot pipes up helpfully, “it’s easier to just show you.”

Albert does have his laptop with him, so he opens and unlocks it for Lancelot. Lancelot opens SkyTube and then searches up “truths33ker” in the white bar, pulling up Yurius’s channel. He clicks over to the profile, and there looks to be a lot of links. One of them was a platform to donate and be a supporter, another was for “special pictures”, and then his social media links.

“So this is it… thank you, Lancelot.” Albert takes control of the laptop back, and he opens up the special picture link, causing Lancelot’s hand to fly over and quickly close it out. “Why?”

“I don’t think it would be a good idea to view that in public, Albert…” Lancelot coughs, “well, just text me if you have any more questions. But you ought to see for yourself, and… probably talk to him about it.”

“I’ll be an expert in no time,” Albert insists with a small smile, getting a resigned sigh from Lancelot. “I have one question, though. Did you pay the 20 bucks to be part of the Mined Craft server?”

Lancelot pauses. “... well, yes. I like playing Minecraft.”

Sounds like Yurius became a bit of a scammer on the internet.

* * *

Back in his room, Albert crosses his arms as he watches one of these live streams in the comfort of his room. What he sees of Yurius on the video strangely comforts him, although he has no idea what is going on in the video. Maybe it's his voice that reminds him that this is the same Yurius he knew. At the same time, he just seems so different. Anyone would fall in love with him, wouldn’t they? He looks at his phone, his hand wavering over whether to call him or not. He had to settle this for once and for all, but…

Albert clicks on the OnlyF*ns link again, and he finds himself met with the dreaded “paywall”. Well, he supposes he can spare the funds? It’s his best friend, after all, and he has to find out himself since Yurius won’t be honest with him. He lets out a sigh and enters his credit card information, and now he finally has access to the hidden pictures.

The first one he sees is Yurius’s… knees? What? Is this supposed to be sexy? The picture is taken so abstractly that he _supposes_ someone desperate enough would pretend it’s a picture of breasts. Dumbfounded with his findings, Albert sighs and keeps scrolling through the feed he now has access to. More obscure pictures that don’t reveal anything… and he gets paid for this? Albert shakes his head, unsurprised by his friend’s scheme here, but technically it doesn’t violate any of the site’s terms and conditions that could get Yurius sued.

Enough dallying. He calls Yurius on his phone.

“Albert? What do you need this late?”

“Where are you right now?” Albert asks first, “If you’re not busy, I want to see you.”

“Want to see me..?” Yurius starts chuckling on the other line, “You sound just like a romance movie hero. Well, where do you think I am?”

“The lab?”

“Not this time, I’m afraid.” Yurius laughs again, “Perhaps if I had my _own_ lab I would just live in there my whole life. Try again.”

“Your apartment? You don’t mind me coming over?” Albert questions breathlessly, trying to remember the place Yurius rented out. It’s quite luxurious and better than whatever Albert rented with Lucifer, but Yurius never lets visitors over.

“Not at all,” Yurius pauses, “You said it was important, right?”

“It is. See you soon, Yurius.” He hears a thoughtful hum from Yurius, but his friend swiftly ends the call.

* * *

“Pardon the mess, you didn’t give me much notice ahead of time,” Yurius says as he leads Albert into his living room. “Shall we have some wine?”

“Dude, how did you afford that?” Albert raises an eyebrow, shrugging in response to his question. He reclines on the couch, finding himself sinking in the cushions. “I’m sure you have an idea..?”

“Certainly,” Yurius smiles as he returns with a bottle of wine and two empty glasses. “A special thing to talk about. Go ahead, Albert.”

“I…” Albert’s cheeks redden even without drinking some wine. “I… can’t believe you never told me about your online ‘e-boy’ occupation!”

Yurius just bursts out laughing. “Hahahaha… haha! Hearing you say the word e-boy is certainly something to hear. My friend, you never fail to act decades older than you actually are.” 

“What? This is nothing to laugh about! You never tell me anything, Yurius!” Albert sighs, “I thought that… you were trying to put distance between us. And it seems like you don’t trust me anymore--”

“Well, I didn’t think you would understand,” Yurius hums, “it’s quite complicated, isn’t it? This was the second experiment I was running on the side. This has been a recent phenomenon in internet culture, so I thought to see how effectively I could do it myself.”

“W-Well, I could help you.” Albert protests, crossing his arms, “weren’t you the one who said that you can’t do everything on your own?”

“It’s silly work, Albert. Call it a passion project on the side.” Yurius shrugs, pushing aside the real issue at hand. “I must say, I’m a little disappointed…”

“Why? Did I do something wrong?” Albert blinks, eyes flickering around the room, and then he unconsciously fiddles with his hair.

Yurius smiles, “I thought you were about to confess your love for me. What a shame that’s not the case--”

“L-Love?” Albert blushes, “Well, that’s another matter… I always loved you, Yurius. M-More than a friend… You knew that, didn’t you?”

Yurius blinks, his face reddening. “No… I didn’t.” He freezes, suddenly shy and self-conscious. “So you felt the same.”

“Of course, there’s no one else who I’d rather have by my side,” Albert says so self-assuredly.

Yurius leans in, catching Albert off guard with a quick peck on the lips. It’s nothing amazing as the kisses they’ve shared before in high school “just to try it out”, but yet it feels nice regardless. The warmth lingers as Yurius places a hand on Albert’s.

“Stay the night. If you’d like, I suppose you can assist me with my research.”

**Author's Note:**

> "why did you censor everything but minecraft" oh you know 
> 
> thank you for reading this hot mess... <3 i appreciate it
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/nobleflamme).


End file.
